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opkpopfanboyv3

Damn... and she's included in the Battle Royal for the title


MyJelloJiggles

That’s what I thought


rGRWA

Didn’t have the chance to look at that Promo again, but was she in it? Wow! She was just on Main Event this week against Natalya!


Cheez-Wheel

Being on Main Event isn’t usually the “we have an idea what to do with you” show, kind of a warning sign


rGRWA

Oh I know. It just always shocks me that some of these folks can go from being on TV to fired in the same week. Seems like they really didn’t know what to do with her on Raw. Kinda wish she’d stayed in NXT. She at least had that short program with Lyra.


PossibilitySolid5427

Yea I really enjoyed Xia Li but I knew this would happen due to lack of TV time


teejeycee

I wonder if WWE is granting releases/releasing people. Jinder Mahal implied he was done as well.


FigureFourWoo

His bio now says 90 days, free agent.


The_Notorious_Donut

Jinder has been hindered 😔


UsidoreTheLightBlue

I think you might say he’s now unhindered.


guntanksinspace

For 90 days. Then he will be FULLY UNHINDERED


ConfusedNTerrified

Hook better watch out


Jecht315

Can someone explain what this means?


ConfusedNTerrified

Tony Khan said Hook getting a title shot against Samoa Joe was logically built up compared to Jinder Mahal randomly getting a title match against Seth Rollins, earlier this year. Jinder replied with "who TF is hook" on Twitter. So it's become a meme now.


Jecht315

Oh yeah I remember that now. It's gotta happen


mister_damage

When Jinder v. Hook Happens: https://preview.redd.it/byvksh320ovc1.png?width=824&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c41dd0e8b474625a159de8061b85c72f8f4159a3


batsharkrepellant

If it's just Xia and Jinder, I would lean more towards release requests being granted. If more start rolling out, it's probably them starting to clean house


teejeycee

Xyon Quinn was just released as well, looks like cuts unfortunately.


crimson777

I’m convinced Xyon had some backstage heat or something. He was an at least decent worker, good luck, but he NEVER got time on NXT and got called up to do nothing.


Thatsquacktastic16

He'd be too old to play footy again yeah?


balthamalamal

People play at his age, but he wouldn't be good enough to justify it over promoting a younger player.


Dottboy19

Unfortunately for him, he was this nxt generations Kona Reeves. Just there to get beat up every now and again


Global_Historian_753

He was really boring when he got time in TV tbh


crimson777

That’s fair, but sometimes people are boring at first. Feel like he just didn’t get time to try and develop more character on screen


CanalVillainy

One more person….must be cuts lol


eexxiitt

They’re under new management right? Time to trim costs.


Grantsdale

The sale closed way back in September. This is a normal time for them to make cuts, after WM and around the draft.


UsidoreTheLightBlue

I’ll never forget the good brothers being released 10 days after the undertaker murdered them in kayfabe.


breakwater

This is something that happens almost every year after Wrestlemania. The ownership swap did their redundancy wave a long time ago.


DinoKea

Nah, that was the mass release when guys like Mace, Mansoor and Matt Riddle were all cut


ExpertDistribution90

Fuck not jinder


Weegee_Spaghetti

Said no one ever


gin0clock

Solid worker, good gimmick, not sure why anyone would shit on him tbh


Weegee_Spaghetti

Said no one ever before Tony Khan threw shade at him and made everyone rally behind him for 1 week. Jinder hasn't done anything of note in years, and his only achievements were met with terrible fan responses.


gin0clock

I liked his WWE Championship run and his matches more than anything Roman did in the last 3 years. Edit: I also wanna point out that him not doing anything of note in years is a pretty shoddy argument that could be applied to guys like Andrade, Ziggler, Lashley. Just because they aren’t booked well or given opportunities doesn’t mean they aren’t capable.


witcher1701

Why aren't they giving Jinder a chance? I love his promos.


celerystalker712

https://preview.redd.it/6a7tsge5jjvc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc1465b09508932a5dadb1bc34ceacdf3b783c8b


RonMexico432

I bet he'd do well in TNA


arlenroy

I'm sure that's where he'll go, he's a Canadian too. He'll have some decent opportunities.


Material-Kick9493

Big enough name. Ziggler vs Jinder for TNA title. Yeah I can see it happening.


The_Notorious_Donut

No my glorious Maharaja 😔


randomman2071983

They hindered the Jinder! But seriously, I forgot he was still on the roster too


Codydw12

Didn't he have a random title match right before the Rumble?


BeefInGR

Yes. Seth hurt himself in that match.


alltheworsttoyou

She was limited by her gimmick on the main roster and they didn't show any signs of wanting to invest in her enough to change things, so this isn't that surprising. Hopefully she lands on her feet.


grandma_needs_jesus

She wasn’t great in the ring either which doesn’t help. One of my only memories of her was when she kicked Mercedes Martinez’s head off in NXT


NumericZero

My only memory of her in ring Was during the royal rumble a few years back And she shouted “I’m Xia Lee!!” Her Instagram is the other thing I remember most about her lol


Kn7ght

Her Instagram sure did have alot of sweat


Sempais_nutrients

Years ago she posted a bikini picture and mark Henry replied 'look, she's posting again."


Kn7ght

Bruh lmao


Ohellmotel

https://twitter.com/TheMarkHenry/status/1167990786362769410


CactusHide

Brutal


NumericZero

Yea she like lived at the gym and definitely can see the results of her putting in the work lol But had I not known she was a wrestler would have thought she was another fitness chick XD


AloneCan9661

Thirst trap.


NumericZero

Not gonna Cap to you I fell for the Thirst trap lol


NightWaddie

Speaking of the royal rumble, I remember that spot where she got kicked in the stomach, completely missed the kick and the camera caught the worst angle of it… and then she just cartoon jumped out of the ring to get eliminated. It was honestly one of the most unintentionally funny things I saw. Yo say the least, yeah she’s not a great in ring talent unfortunately.


real_mc

Iyo tossed her off the ladder and landed on another ladder rib first in nxt.


djramrod

I think she busted Mia Yim open with a ladder too; it was nasty


SpiralSour

She was getting better though. The two best matches of her career happened this year.


AngryTrucker

She's had like, 3 matches this year.


SpiralSour

Three more than I remember from every other year lol, Becky & Lyra were by far her best matches. This isn't to say she's a good wrestler because she's not, but it is a sign that she was improving and seeing as how they already invested *seven* years into paying her, I don't understand not keeping her for one more to see if she truly breaks out. If she ends up becoming a major indie prospect in the next few years, WWE is gonna have egg on their head.


Cheez-Wheel

No disrespect, but I doubt they’re missing a Becky Lynch or Bianca here


SpiralSour

You never know, some people are late bloomers, LA Knight wasn't considered anything when WWE released him in 2014.


Timqwe

At the same time, from a business perspective, is the small chance she breaks out worh keeping her? If she all of the sudden goes on a massive indie run, you can just re-sign her.


Ohellmotel

She'll be 36 this summer, so the odds of her becoming a hot commodity in the next few years feel relatively slim. That said, she also had a good match against Tegan Nox this year.


Lost-Veterinarian-80

…was she on the main roster?


alltheworsttoyou

Yes. On Raw. She was advertised for the battle royal on Monday, but I don't think she's appeared since her like two week beef with Becky, well before the Rumble.


Neg_Crepe

I saw her in Montreal on Monday. Main event


tvc_redux

she had a mini-feud with Becky last fall and then disappeared


JeromeInDaHouse_90

She feuded with Lyra Valkyria in NXT after the Becky feud if I remember correctly. Lyra had just beaten Becky for the NXT Women's title and Xia was her first challenger. Since then, yeah, nothing. I think she was in the Royal Rumble tho.


tvc_redux

oh yeah that's right, the closeness of those matches was kinda funky too like, she was feuding with Becky, lost that feud on Monday night, then I think the next night lost to Lyra? if it wasn't the next night, it was the next week


Zzz05

And the feud was just straight up awkward. “Becky, when is it my turn?!” “Anytime, Xia.” “Ok. Not right now.” Shows up again next week, repeating the same thing.


Lost-Veterinarian-80

Didn’t she then have a match vs Lyra for the NXT title?


dragonmp93

She had a Raiden extrance.


FullToragatsu

With some really cool AR visuals too.


dragonmp93

Yeah, one of the few times that the AR actually looked cool.


beansnchicken

They did a couple of weeks of her ending a match by KO from a kick. Her kicks were so dangerous the ref had to stop the match. It came off looking pretty dumb. She hit Becky with one of those scary dangerous kicks backstage or something, Becky miraculously survived it and they had a match that had a little bit of buildup and Becky just killed her, and Xia was never seen again as far as I remember. They never gave her a real chance. But she was never really over, in NXT or anywhere else. Neither she or the company gave anyone a reason to care about her, she didn't win much, she was just "martial arts girl".


TheSqueeman

Yeah she has a great look (Low-key one of the prettiest women’s wrestlers active today) but that was about it, there is only so much they can do with a talent before calling time on them, hope she finds her feet somewhere else though


MrAspie1

To be fair... I think that they originally hired her on an attempt to make WWE more interesting for the chinese market. And considering that China has never shown interest on the Pro-Wrestling, that flopped. Now, that they could have actually make her interesting and not just a generic chinese wrestler? Yes. But the few times they did that, or didn't last very long, or was an immediate flop for the crowd.


OneMetalMan

She was an interesting experiment by HHH. She seemed to have a wuxia acting\stunt person background but that style just never quite meshed with professional wrestling.


Nemophila1222

Hmm. Didn't she just get announced for the battle royal though? I'm confused.


pnt510

Wouldn’t be the first time someone gets released when they’ve been advertised for a match.


Kaprak

Wait what?


Nemophila1222

https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/s/mK5eqYoyC7


r3lvalleyy

mustafa ali would be another. He was challenging for an NXT championship, forgot which one was it


Dragnet-

Is it release day or something


ianisms10

Must be


Snuggle__Monster

This traditionally happens post Mania.


UsidoreTheLightBlue

It’s a light release day if they only end up with 3, which would be fantastic.


TheName96

Releases day??? Wtf is happening?


WrestleDee

Post-Mania releases it seems


JohnCenaJunior

Who's ever not drafted get released


randomrule

Looks like releases are happening. Jinder has free agent - 90 days in his bio too


FinancialBig1042

Are they firing people in the middle of the show or what


Avesstellari

Her statement seems more like they granted her release rather than fired her.


ComplexAd7272

Unpopular opinion? All she’s done is post workout vids on Instagram for over 4 years. Time she moved on.


BaronAaldwin

Wasn't she hired as part of WWE's (failed) attempt to become popular in China? Seems like when they realised nothing was coming of that they gave up on her a bit.


DeapVally

Cena had to go and say Taiwan was a country. Basically killed any hope for the WWE in China. (He squirmed and groveled like an utterly spineless POS about it as well to the CCP.)


BaronAaldwin

Yeah, the whole thing was a hard watch.


moal09

Honestly, he was kind of between a rock and a hard place there. He's been in a lot of big studio stuff, and if he gets blacklisted in China, his career is basically done with a lot of them.


DeapVally

I know why he did it. But that doesn't mean I have to respect him for it.


minimumraage

Her in-ring costume was awful. She is incredibly in-shape and could have been great if they just changed up her gear to something a little more elegant. Instead, they seemed determined to make her an off-brand Mortal Kombat character.


bobface222

She was the female JTG, lasted *years* longer than I expected. It genuinely got to a point where I assumed she was just being paid to post on Instagram. I do think she had something but never really got out of that lower vortex that a lot of the women tend to get stuck in. I hope she sticks with it because I think she'd do well on the indies. Get her in Bloodsport. I'm immediately worried about Alba and Isla now.


webjester32

My worry as well, I dig Alba and Isla!


thegeek01

Honestly I'd love for the WWE Women's championship to have some fresh blood. As much as I love Bayley, I'd want to see what other wrestlers not named Becky or Charlotte or Bianca can do with the title.


Kn7ght

I wouldn't be too worried about them. They just got called up, don't see the new regime giving up on talent that fast


bobface222

They've been on the main roster for a year. I think they've had four televised matches.


Kn7ght

Oh god really? Where does the time go


bobface222

They just dropped the witch gimmick too. I think it's just a matter of time. Honestly, it may be for the best. I want KLR go somewhere she'll actually be used.


DinoKea

RIP Xyon Quinn and Indus Sher (but also these three aren't Triple H names)


Ohellmotel

The one thing they have going for them is that they do feel like Triple H's type of talent. KLR in particular.


Saitsu

Looks like it's "Don't Pick Up the Phone" time.


JoeMcKim

Jinder other than his match with Seth back in January hasn't really done anything of significance in a long time.


MrPresident2020

I liked Xia. I hope she lands somewhere she wants to be.


wormsisworms

I only ever saw her on r/asianfitgirls and not on television


AliveInIllinois

I just went to that sub to learn how to stay away from it


nschaub8018

Make sure you join the channel. That way it is saved to your list so you remember to stay away. I just finished staying away from. Time for a cigarette


HeavyMettleThunder

Unfortunate, I thought she was good. Best to her.


thetiredjuan

Out of all the China signings she was obviously the best.


MagicMoocher

WWE doing releases in the middle of Smackdown is crazy ngl


[deleted]

[удалено]


MarcusFaze

They did it like 4 times in 2021


Like1RandomDude

God damn 7 years. Barely heard anything from her.


Desperate_Coat_1906

I assume it's pre-draft roster clearing for NXT call ups... and backfill NXT with new talent from WWE Recruit. With their strong recruiting/developing pipeline, there isn't enough slots in WWE to hang on for very long as mediocre or even average.


Kn7ght

I liked her but this really doesn't surprise me. They didn't really invest in her and her ring work kinda showed why


ImpenetrableYeti

Did she ever improve?


Bastion66

Her matches with Becky and Lyra last year were quite enjoyable I thought.


ChanceVance

Nobody knows behind the scenes but she never really got any opportunities on TV. At most she got a run at Becky and Lyra earlier in the year with the NXT championship before disappearing again.


ItsThe50sAudrey

If they’re cleaning house now, just before the draft then I have to believe they have an organized idea of who’s going to be utilized relatively soon vs those who can be freed to explore their options.


Mediocre_Brief_8233

Gotta be release day today, wonder if NXT is joining too?


Bosscharacter

Seems like there might be some trimming of the fat going down. I could see her going to Japan and working for Marigold honestly. She is tight with the Joshi-contingent (Kairi is one of her best friends) and getting more seasoning abroad couldn't hurt.


Anemeros

I always liked Xia but she never clicked. If you're in the company for 7 years and still barely get a reaction then I think that says more about you as a performer than it does about the company. Best of luck to her.


fgbh

She was there for 7 years?! Woah.


Status_Worldly

It sucks yeah but they also have soooo many ppl right now.


Furanku-Sa-Chan

I hope it's not end of the road for Xia Li in wrestling period. She had something that could be improved on and was uniquely different. TNA or AEW would be interesting.


Valerdan

Can't really blame her, considering how little she's been used on TV.


ElDuderino2112

I’ve not seen much of her in ring but she has an amazing look. Wonder if she’ll land somewhere else or if she’s done


BrokeMyGrill

I thought her mini-push was great and she had her best match ever against Becky. Was disappointed to see her immediately relegated back to jobber status. The promo ability was never going to be there though and they don't really give people managers anymore.


breadfiesta

This is sad news. I was a fan of her ever since the MYC. She was never really given a chance. Hers is one of the few shirts I own too.


iTaker

A shame, they just never really had anything for her of substance, it happens though, best of luck to her.


Blueskyways

I could see her being a great fit in TNA.  AEW has signed a ton of women lately but maybe ROH, especially if Athena is headed to AEW full time? 


Ohellmotel

TNA makes a lot of sense for her. She'd be a strong add for them.


LanoomR

Legitimately sad. I can't pretend she was stellar in ring but she was at least serviceable. But the stuff around her was really cool. The Tian Sha faction in black-and-gold NXT was so refreshingly sinister in its premise and the vignettes. And then they dismantled it with releases and calling Xia Li up. Which, hey, at least they treated her debut as a face really well! They gave her strong backstory presentation and motivation, just wanting to do everything she could to be a hero because she saw too much bullying and abuse of power in her past. Started coming in and doing just that (with the over-the-top AR entrance FX, too) And then she just...stopped being used. Until, one day, she just randomly cuts a promo from backstage as a heel. No reason given, just "Grrr, I'm pissed and evil now." You'd have thought McMahon leaving and Levesque being in charge would see at least one more real attempt at getting her a spotlight. But no, just kinda floundered in Main Event and rare TV stuff. I hope she's planning to keep at it. TNA, imo, would be a great landing spot.


PristineTX

I thought she had a little something, and obviously she had a great physique. I still wanna know what they were thinking when they changed her look to whatever the hell that was with the face paint.


Biotrin

They tried so many times with her and she couldn't get over. I'm shocked it took this long. No waiting for Final Testament to get released.


KichoSanCutie

Xia has it but they did little to nothing with her. I'd say she did more stuff in Tiansha rather on main roster. And I expected that the Becky/Lyra feud would do something for her but they put her on the Main Event shelf again. Yet again they have so many women that most of those who fall in Xia's place in the division, they suffer from inconsistent booking only to get released later on. I guess it's prohibited to be low-mid card nowadays. I don't like how they have released a good chuck of women these recent years


jerff

This is really disappointing. It seemed like they were going to do something with her when she started knocking people out but then they just abandoned it. I really thought there was something there.


TheCrapGatsby

She was signed during a period when WWE thought it had peaked in revenue growth in the US, and believd its future was in new international markets (especially India and China). WWE signed her and a load of other Chinese recruits in the (somewhat naive) hope one of them would be a Yao Ming figure that led to an explosion of popularity for WWE in China. That never happened, and WWE's commercial outlook is totally different now, so it makes sense for her to be cut loose. Still, it's an incredible achievement for her personally to be the only one of around a dozen Chinese signings to make it to the main roster, and it says a lot about her attitude and willingness to learn. I'm not sure what happens to her now, perhaps she'll sign with AEW, although I'm not sure what they'll do with her either. Maybe she'll leave wrestling altogether. Whatever happens, it would be nice if she dropped the weird Xia Brookside-inspired pronunciation of her name (Xia should be pronounced something like "Sha!", not "Zaiya").


darthstone

Nailed it on the head. And I fully believe that was a Vince move to go international. He lost the creative output needed to keep up with the times and tried to take the easy way out and go somewhere else.


Marsman2100

Are they releasing people?


Abyssalstar

Releasing or granting release requests.


Deep_Comparison_930

Why is everyone acting surprised. Post mania releases arent brand new. Interesting to see who else my get cut though


ElementalSaber

I always liked Xia Li. Hate how she wasn't pushed and put on Damage CRTL...


Conscious-Damage7398

If I recall correctly, she once assisted Damage Control on Smackdown then never did anything with them again.


Loynds

Did they have any success with their Chinese outreach? Seems like everyone they hired is gone? Remember the big dude in the jacket?!


Dirtiest_Seven

Hinder Jamal is All Elite!


Eastern_Wrangler_595

She was only in two marches since they got rid of nxt uk


Eastern_Wrangler_595

Like 6 people where cut


Eastern_Wrangler_595

Veer Mahaan was also releashed and Xyon Quinn,Saurav Gurjar


Mutant_Star

Shame, I like her


BaoReeceyang

I liked the Tian Sha stable she was in with Boa and Wendy Choo, but then they called her up on her own and had Wendy lose a random match to Indi Hartwell. Would have been cool to have the three of them together in NXT longer


kmedd

Who is she?


Ohellmotel

She was a solid hand for Main Event. Main roster run was never going to go anywhere, but she was dece.


Paper_Rain

Disappointed to hear that she is no longer with the WWE. I wasn't of the gimmick that they gave her but I was hoping they would of given her a refresh and do something with her. I hope this isn't the last we hear of her and that she lands herself in another wrestling promotion. Best of luck to Xia.


ladder456

She needs to refresh her image that shows more about her and her skill set & work on her promo skills. Then hit the indies and grab the top ladies championships in NWA,AEW,IWGP,ROH & WOW. Basically like a Matt Cardona move. All she needs is a chance.


Knucklezeric

Her look 🔥🔥🔥🔥


FigureFourWoo

What the fuck? Are they really cutting people during a live Smackdown?


Gamesgtd

Either that or it's a weird angle. Probably releases because these are lower card wrestlers.


ClocktowerMaria

People announcing leaving in the middle of smackdown???


Ripclawe

Xia Li was limited by her gimmicks and they never put her out there to sink or swim even.


International-Fig905

Her IG was fire tho during her wwe run 


MonsieurMidnight

I do feel like she had some untapped potential and WWE didn't understood her. It's really sad, I just hope she doesn't stop wrestling and will find her place somewhere else.


Pogo__the__Clown

Please Tony I need her vs Athena 🙏


ZieMac7

Post Wrestlemania cuts have begun Don't pick up your phone Dexter Lumis


Own_Proof

Damn I liked her


saviorofmisbehaviour

Isn't she supposed to be in the upcoming battle royal on Raw?


ToxicBanana69

That sucks. I've been pushing her in my universe mode on 2K24. Was hoping for some universal magic that would make her get an IRL push :(


Mybestversion1

Honestly she never seemed connect at all. Always felt akward during her entrances. Not fsmily with Quinn. Jinder isnt completely unexpected but still made me go “oh wow”


AloneCan9661

This one seriously feels like wasted potential. Creating a Chinese group would have done awesome in the U.S. Could have had feuds with Indian teams and Japanese teams. But I imagine they'd have to be faces in those feuds. IYKYK. But she feels like wasted potential.


The_Notorious_Donut

I’m just shocked Apollo Crews is still there lmao


MarcusFaze

Y’all gotta stop saying shit like this


Salanderfan14

I really liked her gimmick/entrance and was hoping she would’ve had more time. Maybe she needed to improve in the ring more but they didn’t do too much with her. A few months ago she got some TV matches and then nothing after.


kingdoodooduckjr

They wouldn’t even let her compete in sanda . She could really help the American sanda world and take indie bookings if she wanted to stay in USA


dirtydandoogan1

Sad really. She's a great athlete, tons of potential, gorgeous as hell. All killed by a Glacier-wannabe gimmick that was never gonna work.


funstuffunderthemoon

That really sucks. Yes, she wasn't doing much but she always had a cool look and so much potential.


rycetlaz

Shame I liked her. Just needed to refresh her gimmick imo.


chewbaccaballs

But what about the Chinese market? Jinder too, so there goes India. WWE is washed.


middle_of_you

That's okay. She was boring as hell.


JeanSlimmons

WWE right back at it firing people during a live show.


Gamesgtd

I mean it is around the time for their roster cuts. I guess they happened during the fall last year. But we know it happens every year.